ARTICLES ABOUT ILLINOIS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION BY DATE - PAGE 3

Manufacturing companies are pretty happy with the way 1997 is shaping up, except for two dark spots. The National Association of Manufacturers said its latest survey shows that smaller businesses--those with fewer than 500 employees--remain vexed about taxes and government regulation (like that's news) and "a shortage of qualified employees." Specifically, according to the NAM survey, 46 percent of the companies surveyed said their employees have difficulty solving problems on their own; 29 percent say employees are weak in math; and 33 percent say employees have difficulty communicating in English.

James G. Shennan, 86, the founder and chairman of the Weldstar Co., a welding supply firm in Aurora, was president from 1948 to 1960 of the Elgin National Watch Co. A resident of Wayne, he died Saturday in the Presbyterian Home in Evanston. "He was a businessman who was very proud of his accomplishments," his daughter Melissa Shennan said. "Weldstar has proved a wonderful success, and he continued to head it until he got sick." The Elgin National Watch Co., one of the oldest companies in the state, was in the city of Elgin.

W. Frank Wiggins, 71, retired chairman and CEO of Illinois Cereal Mills Inc., died Oct. 24 in Paris Community Hospital in Paris, Ill. Mr. Wiggins a resident of that city, was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin's business and law schools. He joined Illinois Cereal Mills, a processor of corn products, in 1964 and retired six years ago. Mr. Wiggins was past chairman of the American Corn Millers Federation and a former director of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Manufacturers Association and the University of Illinois Grants in Aid. Survivors include his wife, Lois; three sons, W. Frank III, Geoffrey and James; a daughter, Sandra Hutchings; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Republican Lt. Gov. Bob Kustra Thursday named Gregory Baise, president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, as chairman of his U.S. Senate campaign. Baise headed the Illinois Department of Transportation under former GOP Gov. James Thompson. Kustra said of Baise: "He is a master campaign strategist, having served in the Thompson administrations for 14 years, directing his 1986 re-election campaign, and having directed the Illinois Reagan/Bush efforts in 1984." Baise joins a team consisting of campaign manager Don Totten, Schaumburg Township GOP committeeman; finance committee chairman Ed Brennan, retired president and CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Co.; and campaign treasurer J. Robert Barr, a partner at the Sidley & Austin law firm.

America's civil justice system, as it concerns product liability, is not fair, balanced or predictable. The system does little to protect injured employees, maintain new product innovation or increase jobs. The winners today are plaintiffs' lawyers who receive more money than the victims they represent. These lawyers bring a staggering number of unwarranted cases causing manufacturers to spend exorbitant amounts of money defending against lawsuits that never should have been brought.

The powerful Illinois Manufacturers Association has weighed in against the proposed revision to the tax cap that has passed the legislature and is being opposed by fiscal conservatives, including Republican state Reps. Cal Skinner of Crystal Lake and Bernard Pedersen of Palatine. The manufacturers association, which is a major contributor to Republican candidates and won several work-related concessions during the recent Republican-controlled legislative session, is asking Gov. Jim Edgar to veto the proposal.

One in three Illinois private employers will provide pay raises of 3 to 3.4 percent for their hourly workers in 1996, according to an Illinois Manufacturers' Association survey. Overall, employers project pay plans ranging from freezes to 7 percent raises.

The Illinois business community got an early holiday gift Thursday with the passage in Springfield of legislation that offers confidentiality for information contained in voluntary internal environmental audits. The measure sprang from complaints that businesses finding out about an environmental problem were afraid of reporting it, for fear of being prosecuted or sued by government agencies. The measure, expected to be signed into law by Gov. Jim Edgar, had been a top priority issue for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Manufacturers Association.

Four years ago, WMX Technologies Inc. discovered through a routine review that its Lake View landfill in Erie, Pa., had violated state garbage-disposal limits by 38,000 tons over two months. The Oak Brook-based company immediately reported the finding to Pennsylvania authorities-and was slapped with a $4.1 million fine. WMX officials were stunned, because they had reported the event and no environmental damage had occurred. They also fired six employees for the infraction.

When Americans visit Germany, they usually return with conventional souvenirs such as lederhosen or beer steins. Mettawa's Duncan MacLean returned with something much more unusual that could have a significant impact on Lake County and Illinois economic development, according to local industrialists. Having worked five years ago as a summer engineering apprentice for Erich Neumayer, a West German manufacturing firm, he brought back a plan to establish a German-style manufacturing apprenticeship program in Lake County.